Did you know? Republican gerrymandering evident in 86th District

As I was preparing to write this “Did You Know” article, I chose to look up the definition of “gerrymandering” in order to provide a concrete definition. Several times over the years I would be having a conversation with someone and the issue of redistricting/gerrymandering would come up. Many people were not sure what that term meant.

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By Lynn MasonChairperson of the Ionia County Democratic Party

Ionia Sentinel - Standard-Ionia, MI

By Lynn MasonChairperson of the Ionia County Democratic Party

Posted Jun. 18, 2013 at 9:36 PM
Updated Jun 18, 2013 at 9:54 PM

By Lynn MasonChairperson of the Ionia County Democratic Party
Posted Jun. 18, 2013 at 9:36 PM
Updated Jun 18, 2013 at 9:54 PM

IONIA, Mich.

As I was preparing to write this “Did You Know” article, I chose to look up the definition of “gerrymandering” in order to provide a concrete definition. Several times over the years I would be having a conversation with someone and the issue of redistricting/gerrymandering would come up. Many people were not sure what that term meant.

I found the following on Wikipedia, (the democratic – as in collective – source of knowledge): “In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries to create partisan advantaged districts. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander. However, that word can also refer to the process. When used to allege that a given party is gaining disproportionate power, the term gerrymandering has negative connotations.”

This is what Fairvote.org says about gerrymandering/redistricting: “Redistricting encourages manipulation of our elections by allowing incumbent politicians to help partisan allies, hurt political enemies and choose their voters before the voters choose them. The current process is used as a means to further political goals by drawing boundaries to protect incumbents and reduce competition, rather than to ensure equal voting power and fair representation.”

I have included a picture with this article in order to show you what I believe is the perfect example of gerrymandering gone wrong. As you look at the photo, it isn’t hard to see how little fairness and equal voting came into consideration. The right side of the “hook” was pulled in to make the district’s Democratic influence weaker. This also has the added impact of weakening the neighboring districts as well.

Clearly manipulation took place when the Republican Party put this together. Don’t get me wrong, there has always been some manipulation no matter which party is in power. This, however, seems to be to the extreme!

Some people believe that districts like the 86th are now so stacked that it would be nearly impossible for the seat to be taken over. I, on the other hand, believe that any district can be won by anyone if the work is done and the people are included in the process.

What do you think?

Lynn Mason is Chairperson of the Ionia County Democratic Party. Contact her at masonapples@gmail.com or 616-204-1246.